I’m kicking myself for not picking this book up sooner. I read the whole thing in an evening and I loved it. I was simply not expecting to be so drawn in by a combination spy story/murder mystery set in 1585 in London, with Gloriana Regina herself as a prominent character. As a Tudor history nerd, I loved Wolfe’s ability to so clearly evoke the period. Her descriptions of the city’s various areas and the differences between the City proper (on the north side of the Thames) and Southwark were fabulous. I’m always in favour of throwing Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare into historical fiction set in this period, so I was thrilled when they appeared as friends of the main character. Wolfe does a wonderful job of helping the reader to grasp how politically and religiously turbulent the period was and the consequent dangers for The Honourable Nicholas Holt and his friends and family. I’m very excited to read the next book in the series, The Course of All Treasons.

• Title: A Murder by Any Name
• Author: Suzanne M. Wolfe
• Series: An Elizabethan Spy Mystery #1
• Pages: 336
• Genre: Historical Mystery
• Rating Out of 5 Stars: 4

My Thoughts:
I was hooked from the opening line of the book. Wolfe dives right into the dark undercurrents of the royal court. Murder, conspiracy, intrigue, danger; This book has it all.
With a rich array of well-developed characters, you don’t get lost trying to remember the cast. The settings help draw the reader into the story in further. I was pleasantly surprised at how smooth of a read this was. Our detective Nicholas Holt makes for a fantastic lead. He handles the situations perfectly and follows the clues to solve the murders in a believable manner. There were a couple of predictable villains and causes for actions but I was not disappointed in how they were executed. A story set in this time can easily have creative licenses taken with it but Wolfe did a wonderful job keeping true to the period.
If you are a fan of mysteries or history this is well worth the read.

*E-ARC kindly provided by NETGALLEY in exchange for an honest review

A Murder By Any Name
An Elizabethan Spy Mystery
by Suzanne M. Wolfe


Crooked Lane Books

Mystery & Thrillers
Pub Date 19 Oct 2018


I am reviewing a copy of A Murder by any Name through Crooked Lane Books and Nethalley:


In the Elizabethean court a brutal murder threatens sanctity and a hot tempered spy is the one who must save the day.


The court of Elizabeth 1 is no stranger to plotting and intrigue but the royal retinue is thrown into chaos when the queens youngest and sweetest lady in waiting is murdered, her body is left on the high altar of the Chapel Royal in Whitehall Palace. Nicholas Holt the younger brother of the Earl of Blackwell is spy, take and owner of Black Sheep Tavern in the seedy district of Bankside. Nick learns quickly working for the queen is full of mixed blessings.


Quick tempered Queen Elizabeth can either reward Nick with Gold or have him be headed!


After a second lady in waiting is slain at Whiteall, the court is one again reeling with both shock and dismay on the trail of a horrific murderer nick and his Irish Wolfhound, Hector are treading on treacherous ground, and only the killer’s head on a platter can keep them in the Queen's God graces.


I give A Murder By Any Name five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

Yikes was Elizabethan England a convoluted, complicated mess of spies and betrayal and, yes, murder. Nick Holt finds himself working for Elizabeth herself when young ladies in waiting are found murdered. Not an easy job. Luckily, he has good friends in Eli and Rivkah (what a wonderful pair of siblings) and a loyal dog in Hector. This is an unusual mystery in that it could have gone two ways- into deep deep history or skimming across the surface. Wolfe, however wisely gives you well researched info = not too much and not too little- and a good plot and characters. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. For fans of historical mysteries.

The Honourable Nicholas Holt is one of Queen Elizabeth's domestic spys. He and his wolfhound have a knack for finding out who has something to hide. When one of the Queen's youngest ladies in waiting is murdered it's his job to find the killer. Unfortunately the bodies start to pile up. There are just so many suspects. Are they political or crimes of passion???

Our hero leads a complicated life. He owns a tavern on the south bank (rougher side) of the Thames, he has friends among the lowest and highest people in the city.

A fabulous Elizabethan murder / mystery. With great characters and an insight into the lives of the rich and poor in those days.

It will certainly make you thankful for modern times.

I loved it.

Set in 1585 at the court of Elizabeth 1 Nicholas Holt, spy and the younger brother of the Earl of Blackwell, is given the task of discovering the murderer of one of the Queen's ladies-in-waiting. But this is just the start.
A very enjoyable well-written mystery and the story is certainly helped by its likeable characters. A good solid start to what I presume will be a series. Setting the scene of Elizabethan England well.

“When her father told her she had been chosen to wait on the Queen, she had been overjoyed, envisioning a monarch who surrounded herself with poets and musicians, a court which echoes to the sweet notes of madrigrals and the honeyed words of the sonnets.”

London, Elizabethan court, 1585.

The book starts with a prologue. Cecily is a young girl and she has just discovered the pleasure of the court, dancing with men during the great ball. She receives an anonymous letter from someone who asks her to go to the chapel at midnight. She finds the death instead.

The morning after her death, she is found in a strange position, on the altar of the chapel, whit a stiletto injury and no much blood. The Queen decides to call Nicholas Holt, her spy on the continent, to investigate about this murder. Just as he starts his jobs rumors spread about the Jews involvement in the case, even if there aren’t proofs. Nick calls Eli, a Jewish physician who helps him in examining the corps. Nick finds a friend in this man, who has a intelligent and strong sister.

With the help of trustworthy people the spy is trying to find the assassin, who can be anyone in the court. He thinks that the murder will kill again, because his intentions are to destabilize the Queen figure and power. The court is never a safe place, but the assassin is creating panic.

As in the Agatha Christie’s best books another victim is found at the middle of the novel. This time is Mary, Cecily friend. Her dead is different, and Nick thinks she was killed by a different person. But he is not so sure.

The spy continues to investigate with more passion and frustration, until he finds the truth.

*******

”If the nights were the province of men, the days were ruled by women, with Elizabeth Regina the sun that shone above them all.”

The numerous actors on the stage of this book are real or not, but have a important impact in the story anyway. Nickolas is the main character, a spy who worked on the Continent and now is at the court. The Queen, Elizabeth, is a big figure: she is primary in the history in general, and in this story in particular. She is described as a great woman with red hairs and a lot of jewelry, who rules on a court full of bad spirits and reigns on a dangerous country.
The author did a great job with historical research and historical accuracy, making sure that the reader could find truth behind the fiction. The places and the characters are well described and the reader can feel and understand the dangers and the beauty of this time.

”A man was a fool to underestimate Elizabeth just because she was a woman. Plenty had made that mistake and had paid for it their heads on Tower Green.”

The court is the palace, “that labyrinth of corridors echoing with footfalls and whispers and suspicions”, a place in which the murder is not a demon, but a man of flesh and blood. As such, his motivations must be understood by Nick.

There is a curious character, who helps Nick, and he is Codpiece. He is the dwarf of the court, inserted by the author even if Elizabeth didn’t have a figure as him in real history. He is a “spy in disguise”: as for the women, also the dwarfs are considered stupid people or animated furnishings. But they have eyes to see and ears to listen and understand the little and big things happen in every single day of this dangerous court. “Generally people saw only what they wanted to see, a two-headed sheep, a Fool, or a monster”.

Even if the mystery isn’t great, the history accuracy and the characters’ system are constructed very well. Nick has a lot of different ideas about his time and his country, and he works for the best of humanity. The religious belief is an important topic in this time. The pope of Rome is against Elizabeth and catholic people are arrested and incriminated because of their treason to the crown.
Bigotry is also an interesting part of this novel: when there is a murder or a catastrophe, people are ready to accuse without proof those who seem different, as the Jews.

I appreciate the interest in the victims. Writers and their characters rarely remember the victims, their wishes and their interests. In this book the prologue is a window to Cecily’s soul, and a good start to the intrigues in the court.

Full of interesting characters and historical facts, this book is a good mystery at the court of Elizabeth, a place in which Shakespeare walks and thinks of his future plays.

The Honorable Nicholas Holt is called in by Queen Elizabeth I when the body of her newest lady-in-waiting is found murdered and posed on the altar of the Chapel Royal in Whitehall Palace. Nick is a spy, a rake, the owner of a bar in a seedy part of London, and the younger brother of the Earl of Blackwell. He has mostly been working in Europe after being blackmailed into spying for the queen by Sir Robert Cecil because of his family's Catholic past.

Nick, along with his friend John and his wolfhound Hector, find a variety of clues but no real leads. When a second lady-in-waiting is also found murdered, Elizabeth gives Nick a deadline to solve the crimes.

As Nick interviews people from those of the highest rank to a lowly Cinder who builds the fires in the State rooms, we get a wonderful picture of London and court life in the time of Elizabeth I. We also learn about political tensions of the time as the Puritans are gaining power and Elizabeth is insecure on her throne. We also see the prejudice that exists regarding Jews since two of Nick's best friends are Jewish doctors Eli and Rivkah who are twins who escaped from Spain and are living in London. As Eli says, "We are ever history's scapegoats."

I enjoyed the mystery and the historical setting. I liked the combination of real and fictional characters. Both Will Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe are friends and hang out at Nick's tavern where they argue about plays and Shakespeare tries out dialog that will someday be part of his plays.

Nick was an interesting, well-rounded character. I look forward to reading more of his adventures.

A well written and entertaining historical mystery. The book is well researched, the characters are interesting, and the plot really enjoyable.
I look forward to reading the next instalment in this series!
Recommended!
Many thanks to Crooked Lane and Netgalley for thsi ARC

First and foremost, a large thank you to NetGalley, Suzanne M. Wolfe, and Crooked Lane Books for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.

Suzanne M. Wolfe takes the reader into the darker sides of the Elizabethan Court with this murder mystery, using a great deal of detail to bring out the unique flavour of the time. Queen Elizabeth has been reigning over England for close to three decades and has earned the favour of many, both within her Court and in the general public. When the youngest of the ladies-in-waiting is murdered, the Court is abuzz with gossip and Her Majesty is enraged. Found on the high alter of a church, the killer must surely have been seeking to make a statement like no other. Elizabeth turns to the one man she feels is up for the task of locating the killer and bringing them to justice, Nicholas Holt. A spy in his own right, Holt will be able to use his deceptive ways to lure information out of many in order to quickly bring the case to a close. With his connections to Court and possessing a seedy background, Holt will stop at nothing to bring the killer before Elizabeth. However, this might be a more difficult task than first thought, as Her Majesty is far from regal in its traditional form and seeks immediate answers. When a second lady-in-waiting is slain, Holt knows that he is running out of time. If he cannot produce the killer soon, it will be his head on a platter before Elizabeth. Working every angle, Holt travels to ascertain not only clues but motive, remaining as covert as possible. Wolfe delivers an interesting mystery that is sure to pique the attention of some who enjoy their murder mysteries in a historic setting.

This is my first experience with Wolfe and her writing, which left me eager to see what sentiments came as I read this piece. She has a wonderful attention to detail and brings out that 16th century flavour in her story without leaving the reader too bogged down in references or phrasing. That being said, my mind could not grasp the entirety of the story, as I sought something a bit quicker and that would pull me in. Her character development is decent, as Nicholas Holt is painted to be a wonderfully dedicated man, even if he has a background that might be anything but pure. Using a handful of supporting characters, including Elizabeth I, proved useful, not only to advance the story, but also to add strength to the setting. While the story is one of mystery with a peppering of espionage, Wolfe dutifully uses some of the historical goings-on of the time to add to the potential motive. With England standing as a Protestant stronghold, might the Catholics have perpetrated this to poke at Elizabeth? Could the anti-Semitic sentiments of the time be the basis for these murders? All this, keenly woven into a narrative that flows with ease and keeps the reader guessing. I thoroughly enjoyed the historical angle, even if the story did not pull me in as much as I would have liked. Wolfe is to be commended for her attention to detail, which will surely appease many of those who seek to read this book.

Kudos, Madam Wolfe, on an interesting tale. I trust that many will enjoy this piece, for it certainly has much to offer the curious reader.

This was an entertaining, well-written book. There's a murder in the court of Elizabeth I and the Queen tasks Nicholas Holt, younger brother of the Earl of Blackwell, with solving it. He needs to solve it quickly, or face the wrath of the Queen. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for a digital galley of this novel.

I had the oddest sensation as I was reading this book that I was already familiar with the cast of characters. I have tried to find a previous book by Suzanne M. Wolfe which uses these same characters but was not able to find anything. All the material I saw says this is the first book in a new series, but I did spend most of my time reading the book trying to figure out why I was remembering the main characters so well.

This historical mystery is set during the reign of Elizabeth I in the Palace of Whitehall and other locations in London. Sixteen year old Lady Cecily Carew is the newest lady-in-waiting to the queen and her days are filled with learning what her position entails. Privately Cecily has her head in the clouds dreaming of meeting a man to fall in love with. When the Queen learns of what happened to Cecily she calls on Nicholas Holt, owner of The Black Sheep tavern and spy for the crown, to investigate. With the help of Kate, the owner of a brothel and Eli, a Jewish doctor and his twin sister, Rivkah, the trail takes Nick through dangerous places to find the guilty.

The mentions of genuine historical people and events are what the author used to help place the reader in the time setting for this novel. It works well if you are already familiar with events from this time period. I found this novel to be just an okay reading experience.

This was a different sort of mystery for me to read, but I highly enjoyed it. It was well written and characters were both well developed and interesting. I highly recommend!

A Murder By Any Name was worth the read. The time period setting in the Elizabethan Court was wonderfully written and it actually is able to set a tone to the book as though it was written back then. The description of characters and places is unique and keeps the reader hooked on figuring out who might the killer be.

Suzanne M. Wolfe provides an Elizabethan spy mystery in Murder by Any Name. Someone is murdering the ladies in waiting of Queen Elizabeth. The Honourable Nick Holt, one of her spies and a courtier, is tasked by the Queen to hunt down the murderer who is terrorizing the court. With the aid of a Jewish doctor and his sister, Nick starts to close in on the murderer. He pursues clues in the streets of London and among the courtiers. Whodunit? Read and enjoy this historical mystery.

What happens when you pair a wastrel – a smart one, because he owns a tavern in Elizabethan England – and Sir Francis Walsingham, Elizabeth I’s spymaster? You get a lot of court intrigue bookended by the slaying of court women, in “A Murder by Any Name,” first in a new series by Suzanne Wolfe. Nicholas Holt is our tavern-owner, an indolent man-about-town who conceals his work as a spy. Walsingham knows how to use people, and Nicholas is no exception; he’s tasked to discover who murdered first one lady-in-waiting, and then another. It isn’t easy, as nothing in Elizabeth’s court was easy. But young Master Holt is persistent, and intelligent, and brave. Not to mention shrewd and cunning, something he has in common with Her Gracious Majesty. Luckily, she recognizes a kindred soul when she sees one, and though she may threaten, the outcome is not hugely in doubt.

The setting is exquisitely realized, a London that fans of historical mysteries should recognize. The characters who populate the pages are well drawn and intriguing. One of the best -- Hector, Holt’s gigantic Irish Wolfhound. It will be fun to read about his further adventures, in forthcoming books.

Thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for an advanced copy of the book, in exchange for this review.

I received a copy of this title from the publisher for an honest review. A Murder by Any Name is the first title I've read by Suzanne Wolfe - it certainly won't be the last. Set during the later part of reign of Queen Elizabeth I, the story features the Honorable Nicholas Holt who owns a tavern in one of the seamier parts of London. Recruited (blackmailed) into working for Elizabeth's spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham, Nick is known as a rogue and spends time traveling the continent. Called to the court following the death of Cecily, a young lady-in-waiting to the queen Nick quickly finds himself tasked with finding her murderer to bring calm back the court. The book is extremely well written and gives the reader a glimpse into Elizabethan London - the good and the bad. Populated by interesting secondary characters, the reader is kept guessing on who did it and the reason for the murder right up until the big reveal. Nick is intriguing and I can't wait to see where his relationships go in future titles. I will be impatiently waiting for the next title in what appears to be a new series.

Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for my copy of this book! This isn't usually the type of book I read on a daily basis, but A Murder By Any Name was worth the read. The time period setting in the Elizabethan Court was wonderfully written and it actually is able to set a tone to the book as though it was written back then. The description of characters and places is unique and keeps the reader hooked on figuring out who might the killer be. The mystery's solution was not obvious and it fit with the historical period and setting of the book.

I’ve enjoyed two other novels by Suzanne M. Wolfe, and have looked forward to her first foray into the mystery genre.

I was really entertained by this journey into Elizabethan times, as well as the twists and turns of the story. The book has been amazingly researched and crafted with rich atmosphere and details. The reader is transported to Elizabethan times. I learned a lot about the culture, class system, clothing, food and language of that era. There is solid character development and plot line. The story even features some quirky cameos by by Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare. Wolfe weaves in their appearances using bits from their lives and loose quotations from their work. She really is a skilled writer.

For my personal preferences, the book was a bit coarse with language and regular details about the main character's sex life, which seemed a bit overdrawn. But overall I would say that "A Murder By Any Name" was a thoroughly enjoyable mystery and I look forward to more titles in this series.

There is a fatal error on the first page that I could not get past.
"It was unseemly for the great Virgin Queen, Elizabeth the First, ruler of the greatest nation on earth, to use such language, Cecily thought."
This is set during Elizabethan times. There is no way of knowing there will be more than one Queen named Elizabeth. They would not be referring to her as "Elizabeth the First" during her reign nor for several hundred years following. Do you think Queen Victoria was referred to as "Victoria the First"? It sounds silly, doesn't it. And it would be as ridiculous then. You are going to have readers who love history -- that's why they enjoy historical fiction -- who will also catch this blunder.
I can accept possibilities within a historical novel, but this kind of mistake indicates to me the author isn't to be entrusted with my reading time. I'm very disappointed. This is one of my favorite time periods.
However, this is something that can fixed, hopefully. But I wouldn't be sure that there wouldn't be other stupid unforced errors like it further in the book.